Second lawsuit filed in fiery Orland bus crash

FILE - In this Thursday, April, 10, 2014, file photo, massive flames engulf a tractor-trailer and a tour bus just after they collide on Interstate 5, near Orland, Calif. The mother of a 17-year-old honors student who was among 10 people killed in the fiery Northern California bus crash sued FedEx on Tuesday, April 22, 2014, alleging that its trucks have a history of catching fire. (AP Photo/Jeremy Lockett, File)

A student injured in the April 10 collision in Northern California between a tour bus in which he was riding and a FedEx truck has filed a negligence suit against FedEx Corp. and the bus owners, saying he had to kick out a window in the burning bus to escape.

The suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by 18-year-old Miles Hill of Mt. Washington, also names Silverado Stages, the San Luis Obispo-based owner of the charter bus.

Five students and five adults were killed when the tour bus was struck head-on by the FedEx truck on the 5 Freeway in Orland.

FedEx spokeswoman Bonnie Kourvelas could not be reached for comment. However, she issued a statement on behalf of the company after the first suit against FedEX was filed on April 22 by Rosa Rivera, the mother of Dorsey High School student Jennifer Bonilla. Rivera’s daughter was killed in the accident.

“We remain focused on providing support to those affected and cooperating with the authorities as they conduct their investigation,” read the statement. “This is not the time for us to discuss potential litigation.”

The Hill lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory damages, as well as compensation for medical expenses, alleging FedEx driver Timothy Evans negligently crossed from the southbound lanes of the freeway into the path of the northbound bus. The suit additionally alleges the company failed to inspect the big rig to make sure it was safe to operate and would not create “an unreasonable risk of injury” to others.

The suit further alleges that the Silverado tour bus did not have a safe method of escape in the event of such an emergency, causing Hill to be trapped inside for a time.

He suffered a broken collarbone and burns in the incident. According to media reports, Hill was sitting behind the tour-bus driver when the crash happened and told reporters the FedEx truck came right at the bus full of students.

“It was a double-bedded FedEx ground truck,” Hill said. “Both of the beds were askew at some sort of weird angle, and it just hit us. It swerved into our lane and hit us head-on. That’s when I prepared to give up and thought, ‘This is it. It’s over.’ ”